Lashes and 'Staches

Lashes and 'Staches

Here's a simple way to give your pumpkins lots of personality without carving them: Use double-sided tape to attach cutout card stock eyelashes and a mustache (or try eyebrows, sideburns, or a goatee). If your couple will be spending time in an uncovered area outside, use craft foam instead of paper.

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Stack-o'-Lantern

Stack-o'-Lantern

These jacks may look rather precarious, but they're actually held up by a fence post. First, pound a steel U-post firmly into the ground. Carve a 4- to 5-inch-wide hole in the top and bottom of several pumpkins (as many as it takes to cover the length of the post). Leave one with its top intact. Clean out the insides, then carve faces. Carefully thread them onto the post, ending with the pumpkin that has the intact top. To light your stack, place a glow stick or battery-operated candle inside each pumpkin.

Hop on Pop

Hop on Pop

With just a few props, turn a trio of squash into an adorably funny tableau.

For this project, choose three pumpkins that stack well and remove the stems. Place an infant's newsboy cap on the son (at the top of the stack). For the dad, cut craft fur into a shaggy toupee. The daughter gets a simple yarn wig, which you make by winding yarn around a large book to form a thick loop. Tie two pieces of yarn around the loop about 6 inches apart. Cut the loop at a point opposite the 6-inch tied section; the ties become the starting points for the braids. Braid the yarn, then secure the ends with ribbon.

Once the hair and hat are in place, use craft paint to add simple faces. Stack them up, using circles of nonslip shelf liner in between the pumpkin heads to help them stay put.

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Binky Babies

Binky Babies

For these sweet, sleepy babes, start with small round pumpkins. For each, cut the nipple from a pacifier and attach the base to the pumpkin with pins, pressing them through any holes in the pacifier. Add eyes with black marker. Top with a baby's cap or, if there's a long curly stem, tie on a ribbon bow.

Brad New

Brad New

Junk Foodies

Junk Foodies

Punk'in: Rock out with this character's cheese-puff mohawk and taffy tongue. Start with a traditionally carved jack-o'-lantern. With a rolling pin, flatten a piece of taffy (we used Laffy Taffy) into a tongue shape and place it inside the mouth. Use hot glue (an adult's job) to attach his cheese-puff hairdo.

Well-groomed: The dapper opposite of his punk'in brother, this fancy gent sports a huge black licorice mustache. Start by cutting a mustache shape from heavy cardboard. Use hot glue (an adult's job) to attach lengths of black licorice to the cardboard, bending them to follow the shape, as shown. Trim the candy pieces as you go. Edge the shape with the licorice as well. Carve eyes and a wide mouth into the pumpkin, then attach the mustache and two licorice eyebrows with pins.

Disco Fever

Disco Fever

Get your Halloween party started with a mirror-ball pumpkin. Lay strips of metallic silver duct tape onto parchment paper, then cut the tape into squares. Peel off the backing and stick the squares in place. For greater realism, use smaller squares near the top and bottom of the pumpkin, as shown.

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How to Make A Kooky Pumpkin Caterpillar

Knitty-Gritty

Knitty-Gritty

For this preppy argyle look, first tap several horizontal rows of nails into your pumpkin. Tie a length of yarn to one nail, then wind it around the nail heads to form a zigzag. Tie the end off at the starting nail. Repeat with various colors of yarn.

Light-Headed

Light-Headed

Our pumpkin's spiky hairdo is truly electrifying, courtesy of a strand of white holiday lights. Start by carving a jack-o'-lantern design into your pumpkin and cut a hole in back for the plug. Then, using an electric drill with a bit slightly smaller in diameter than the light bulbs, make a dozen or so holes in the top. Insert the lights through the holes from the inside out and place the rest of the strand inside the pumpkin's body.

The Boo Zoo

The Boo Zoo

Mouse: Choose a small pumpkin with a long stem for the tail. Cut facial features and ears from card stock. Attach the back of the ears to the pumpkin with small pieces of duct tape. Use tacky glue to secure the rest of the face.

Cat: Using the same method as for the mouse, make the face and ears. For the body, cover an oatmeal canister with black paper. With tacky glue, add paper legs and a tail. Rest the pumpkin head on top.

Elephant: Choose a round pumpkin with a long stem for the trunk. Use the methods given for the mouse and the cat to create the head and body.

To ensure the mask stays in place, adhere two adhesive-backed Velcro coins to the back of the mask, by the eyes. Place the corresponding coins on top and remove the backing. Press the mask onto the pumpkin.

Use glue dots to attach googly eyes. For the dog, add a pom-pom nose; for the cat, attach embroidery-thread whiskers.